This is a guest post I wrote that was recently published on my friend Shellina’s blog The Frugal Flambe. Check out her wonderful blog and this fun recipe! ———— We all have those days where we’re just so busy that eating is the last thing on our minds! This is especially true during the workweek, whether it’s 40 plus hours at a job, going to school or taking care of the kids. Sometimes, it just sounds so much more appealing to curl up on the couch, order some take out, and take a nice nap. But of course, we can’t always pause our day to rest up, so we must keep going. On days like these, I am always reluctant to settle for something unhealthy. The thought of microwave popcorn or eating out does cross my mind, but in the end, I snap out of it and remember how much I absolutely love food! I still [Continue Reading…]

Our final stop before the end of our East Coast trip was Brooklyn, NY. We bused back to Manhattan from Boston so we could fly out of JFK later that day. To my most delightful surprise, I was able to meet up with one of my closest friends from high school who currently lives in Brooklyn! It was seriously one of the best gifts of the entire trip! We didn’t waste a second and headed straight to the Brooklyn Public House for brunch. When I say brunch, I am understating the quaint atmosphere and savory food that makes up the Brooklyn Public House. We soaked up the sunny day by taking the table with the window bench and ordering three types of eggs benedict! To my further amazement, our dishes included a complementary mimosa or bloody mary with our meal (I have yet to find a place in California that offers [Continue Reading…]

While visiting Boston, we just knew we had to make a trip out to the Sam Adams Brewery! We were running late but luckily, we were able to make it to the last tour of the day at 3pm! This brewery did not disappoint, and it was so much fun learning about the history of the beer and establishment. Also, since this was my first brewery tour, I may be a little bias in saying it was the best I’ve ever been to!!! Jokes aside–the crowd was lively, the tour guide was witty, I learned many things I never knew about beer, and we got extra beer for waiting at the very end! All-in-all, I’d have to say it was a glorious day in Boston. While waiting for the tour to begin, the entrance is filled with the history of the beer, the awards they’ve won, a very nice gift [Continue Reading…]

Alright my fantastic, devoted, and truly wonderful readers–I have been a terrible blogger lately!! But I promise, things are coming back full-force! From finishing my vacation (what a hard life, right?) to catching up on some freelance work, to getting over a cold (which I think caused me to bruise a rib or two from coughing so much!!!), and to well, just life, I have put blogging on the back burner. But, ohhh, how I’ve missed it! So, here continues the series from my travels to the beautiful (and delicious) East Coast!!! (This is part 4 out of 6 of the series. Normal posts will resume in a couple days!) ——————————————– Our first day in Cambridge, we rode The T out to Boston to visit Quincy Market. Now, before my dearest cousin arranged our itinerary in this quaint city, I had never heard of Quincy Market. Apparently, it’s a place [Continue Reading…]

Our last day in New York consisted of heading to Chinatown first. I love going to places like this because the culture is so strong, and you can really get a feel for their food and lifestyle. New York’s Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns in the entire United States, so it was exciting to explore and fun to compare it to the Chinatown I frequent in San Francisco. We went to a Dim Sum bakery for lunch, and for about $5 each we were full off of shrimp dumplings, pork buns, and sweet sesame balls for dessert! And even though we were nice and full after the meal, as we were walking down the street I couldn’t help but notice a street cart selling “Chinese Cakes”! These “cake” are basically flavorful puffs that resemble the texture of a waffle. Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods describes these snacks as [Continue Reading…]